‘Pete Sampras would like a minute’: Roddick’s strong reply to Djokovic being called ‘best 1st server’ in tennis history

Novak Djokovic’s dominance at Wimbledon continues to grow, with the Serb on track to lift a fifth consecutive title at the Championships in a row. He beat Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev on two consecutive days, only being broken twice on serve across the two matches. It is something that has prompted discussion about his serve, a stroke which was once considered his weakest but has developed into a weapon in the years since.

Former British tennis player Mark Petchey began a discussion by tweeting “Starting to think that inch for inch @DjokerNole is the best 1st server the sport has ever seen.” Djokovic has certainly put on a clinic of serving at this Wimbledon and in the years past, with his exemplary record in tiebreaks serving as evidence.

In fact, Djokovic possesses the third best serve rating on the ATP over the last year, behind only Nick Kyrgios and Hurkacz. Those two players are considered elite servers, and Djokovic’s presence in their company indicates how his service has developed over the years.

Andy Roddick, however, disagreed with Petchey’s opinion regarding Djokovic’s status amongst the greatest first-servers of all time, even accounting for height. While Djokovic has definitely earned his keep in the discussion, Roddick pointed out to Petchey that he was actually taller than one of the greatest servers of all time — Pete Sampras.

Roddick wrote, “Pete Sampras would like a minute of your time ……. Nole is amazing but this is a reach.” Sampras won 88.7% of all his career games on serve, a top 10 player in that statistic with most players ahead of him considerably taller, such as John Isner and Ivo Karlovic. Roger Federer is the only player in the top 10 of a similar height to Sampras.

Roddick also brought himself into the discussion. The American was renowned for having a superbly powerful stroke, often registering some of the fastest serves on tour. “Also, I’m shorter than Nole,” wrote Roddick, who won 90.1% of his service games — fourth all time.

Djokovic has won 85.9% of his service games, which pales in comparison to some of the other greats. While his serve has certainly improved in recent years, especially in high-pressure environments where Djokovic consistently delivers accurate and pinpoint first serves, Roddick argues the stroke itself does not hold up to the other greats of the game.

Petchey took Roddick’s point on board, admitting that he might have gotten this one wrong: “Not the first time I maybe wrong. I have been married for 27 years…” said the Brit.

Regardless, Djokovic has been nearly perfect behind his serve at Wimbledon so far. Across his first 4 rounds at Wimbledon, he only gave up 5 break points, holding Jordan Thompson and Stan Wawrinka to zero in his matches against them. He had a tougher time against Rublev, who generated 8 break opportunities but only succeeded in converting one.

The Serb goes up against Jannik Sinner in the semifinal. Sinner pushed Djokovic to five sets in their encounter at Wimbledon last year, and is amongst the stronger returners on tour, capable of returning fire with fire. It should be a tighter contest for Djokovic, but given his form, the world number two will back himself to clear the hurdle and set himself on his way for an eighth Wimbledon title, overtaking Sampras’s record of 7.